Reeve Burgess

Reeve Burgess was a bus body manufacturer based in Pilsley, North East Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. It was a subsidiary of Plaxton from 1980 until its closure in 1991.

The original company known as Harry Reeve was founded in Bridge Street, Pilsley, Derbyshire in 1888, initially carrying out work as the local wheelwright and blacksmith. Harry Reeve progressed to building a wide variety of horse drawn vehicles, including pony traps for milk delivery vehicles, and horse drawn ambulances for local collieries.

After World War I, the founder was joined by his son John (Jack) Reeve who was involved in the business for over fifty years. In 1925 after the death of his father, the company was formed into a limited company partnership with George Kenning of Clay Cross and became Reeve and Kenning Ltd.

A wide variety of vehicles were then produced including brewery trucks, and the first buses and coaches.

The factory produced the complete vehicle, from the design department to the machine shop, where the timber was cut, the blacksmiths shop where the ironwork was shaped, the panel shop for panel beating, the body shop for the actual building of the vehicle and the paint and signwriting shops for the completion of the vehicle. It was a major employer for the area, offering apprenticeships for all these trades.

In 1958 the company became Reeve (Coachbuilders) Limited after the Kenning family interest was bought by the Reeve family, thereby reverting to the original founding company. The managing director was Jack Reeve, who by this time had been joined by his son Harry Reeve.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, a number of developments took place, in particular the manufacture of demountable box van bodies, and Robinsons of Chesterfield were the first operator to place a large order for this particular type of product. Derbyshire County Council's first mobile library fleet was also produced during the mid 1960s.

Following the sale of the company in 1974 to T.H. Burgess Holdings of Worcester, the name was changed to Reeve Burgess Ltd. A rationalisation of the company’s products took place and a far greater degree of specialisation was introduced.

In 1976 the first venture was made into the small coach market with the introduction of the REEBUR 17 based mainly on the Bedford CF chassis and later on the Ford Transit chassis, and the company had considerable success with this vehicle during the next few years. Around 1979 the company started to convert Mercedes vans into luxury mini-coaches.

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